Doorways 1
by RogerD
Summary: Selene, Michael and Blade meet under unusual circumstances. About to be revised.


**Chapter 1**

_You know, um… I used to think that it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, wouldn't it be much worse if life __were__ fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them? So, now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe: __Marcus Cole_

**Earth –11****th**** October 2006**

It was dark, past midnight and to the human populace it was night-time; but to the vampire and younger members of the human populace; also known as _party-time! _Blade was surveying the entrance & exit to a vampire processing facility- getting ready to close this one down too. _Why would they not stop!_ It had been five months since daystar, and Blade being a hybrid like Drake, both had survived. Waking up on the mortuary bed, _had been a shock. _Drake's words 'sooner or later the thirst always wins' had come straight to mind and unable to fight the blood lust within had risen and fed on the assistant.

Blade still looked back upon that day with dread. _Disgust!_ It was still a mystery what caused him to lose control so profoundly. Maybe Drake had used some vampire abilities that Blade did not possess. The virus had killed many vampires of most houses, although some remained immune like the Corvinus line in Budapest. The vampire numbers were still far too high for Blades' liking, continuing his one man mission to kill them all. _I hate them all! Damn suckheads! _No matter the cost they must be exterminated like the parasites they were. Movement in the far corner near the building

It was a converted two storey with a single sliding door entrance coded for familiars. The second had been removed to allow for greater storage, although the windows on that floor remained. Blade extended his Dhampir senses, and could feel nothing except a woman with dark hair and pale skin, piercing crystal blue eyes wearing an all in one black leather armoured suit. A _Deathdealer_. _What is one doing here?_

Eric had also noticed her companion, paranormal senses could smell something distinctly non-vampire about him, probably a Lycan. _Aren't they at war?_ Blade 'filed' those thoughts away for later use more concerned about a Deathdealer and a Lycan squaring off, which might interrupt more important activities. Most Lycans lived in Budapest, although there were a few small packs scattered about; if there were any here they would be hunted down. Slowly and cautiously the Lycan and Deathdealer made their way inside and Blade slowly made his way towards them, unobserved.

The two opened the door to the large building, handling it like it weighed nothing, _they must have broken the lock_, the equivalent to a human opening a kitchen door. The man with the Deathdealer did not move right, neither vampire nor Lycan. _What is he? _Ericwatched the man sniff the air, hoping his scent had not been caught. _Don't make me kill you, not yet. Let me see what you're here for first_ Blade thought.

Inside the building Selene gasped in shock as she closed the door, looking on in horror. Row after row and humans, two storey's high, the whole length and breath of the building. Blood was being drained from practically lifeless humans. The victims were being medically sustained, life support machines monitored almost coma like functions.

"What are they?" asked Michael

"Instead of buying cloned blood from us, they prefer to kidnap the homeless and keep them in a coma while blood is drained over many months" _where did that knowledge come from _she thought.

"That's sick!" remarked Michael who looked at the sight before him, doing a quick count of the humans, _must be easily two hundred_. A frown formed quickly followed by anger flashing from his eyes, "I had no idea you did those sort of things".

"Not us!" answered Selene with more anger than she intended, "my line, my line, and Lycans bites are toxic to humans. Their line" indicated Selene with a sweep of her hand, "Drake's line isn't. Once bitten you're body slowly turns and becomes a vampire over many hours. They're even more blood thirsty and animalist than most Lycans".

"Christ!"

"I've heard stories of vampires eating children, babies even"

Rage, pure _RAGE!_ Coursed through Michaels veins and he struggled to maintain his human façade, mortal eyes turning to immortal hybrid black; his real persona. _I keep this hidden. This is the monster as I truly am._ Teeth elongating, he could feel skin changing. Since their battle earlier in the year, he had been struggling with his Lycan self. Since the fight with William during which he'd been bitten several times, keeping Selene. Michael had noticed less control, in fact an almost total inability to control his anger which made it easier to change, which in turn became more intense and more sudden. Memories that were not his, _Williams'_. Sniffing the air experimentally, _vampires_!

"Are you okay?"

"We have vampires somewhere" Michael replied, Selene's eyes changing with the news from her normal brown to bright blue, the human façade.

Selene was getting worried about Michael. Not only did he anger more easily, _must have been bitten by William_, but her memories of Alexanders life grew with each passing day, almost like she was there. Selene could feel herself changing – if she was honest with herself but these days but all she did was try to cover it up. _Maybe it is a shock after all these years for things to be different? _She could feel Michaels' thoughts, and that of the vampires down in the basement area. Was she now flexing new vampiric muscles, ones never really possessed before. _Could Viktor do this?_ She thought.

"Aaaaah" screamed the female technician upon seeing the transformed Michael, slowly backing up a corridor not three feet away.

Raising hands in a friendly gesture, attempting to obscure huge talons, "I'm not going to hurt you"

The dark haired female technician continued to back away, as two vampires came up from a nearby corridor at a run.

_He wondered what that bitches' problem was again_ the lead vampire thought. She was always whining about something. Turing to his fang mate, both dressed in jeans and U2 t-shirts. One t-shirt said 'Bono forever' and the other 'Forever fire'. They both moved with vampiric speed and noticed two strangers near the technician, the female was definitely some kind of vampire, the other _god knows_. Both stopped near the technician pistols drawn.

"What have we here?" asked 'Bono forever'

"Looks like he'll taste funny" said 'Forever fire' pointing at the hybrid.

"Int she a deathdealer? What you duin here?"

Before either could blink, Michael stepped into 'Bono' using razor sharp talons that moved with inhuman speed slashing a gun hand, followed by a throat. Selene was on the other instantly, disarming and breaking his neck in an instant. Both vampires disappeared in a cloud of ash. _I need to destroy the machine_ Selene thought.

"Turn it all off" she ordered the dark haired technician angrily.

"But they'll kill me" stammered the technician.

"You heard her" said Michael.

The dark haired technician made her way over to the computer and started to press a couple of buttons.

"Ow!" she screamed, her hand retreating as a shower of sparks erupted from the keyboard. Suddenly the PC exploded, the smell of burn plastic wafting through the room. Wrinkling his nose in disgust at the smell, Michael tipped the desk over onto the PC crushing any remnants into dust. Both Heads of immortal Bloodlines watched as the all the humans flat-lined at last giving them the mercy of death.

"We need to check this place thoroughly and make sure we get all them all" uttered Selene authoritatively.

Michael and Selene made their way through the dark corridor. It lead to some stairs although there were no lights but then that mattered to neither; both having nocturnal tendencies their eyes adapted to the darkness as though it was daylight. The stairs of this particular warehouse seemed more foreboding than others, whether it was the chill, the dampness neither could say; but there seemed to be an almost electrical charge to the air around them. Something was going on down the stairs and they had every intention of investigating. Slowly both Selene and Michael made their way down as they heard the door outside being pulled opened amid gunfire. Trying not to draw attention to themselves, went down into the darkness.

Ever wary she drew her gun. Her mind was just not focused today and couldn't help but feel odd, like she might have destroyed the computer. _I couldn't have_. Suddenly Alexander's memories overtook her as she relived them, again. The sights, but smells, sounds- even _feelings_. They were not in any order, but appeared as a jumble which made it hard to make sense of; of his time as a warlord; being infected with the virus; seeing an angel made up of light watching his wife give birth; of realising his immortality. Selene clutched her head in pain, gun almost clattering to the floor as her legs started to give way. She instinctively reached out for the wall to steady herself.

Michael grabbed Selene in concern, steadying her, holding her upright. Her condition had steadily got worse, deteriorating over these few months. Selene regularly lost control over Alexander Convinus' memories which sometimes caused seizures. Most of the them, she inadvertently exerted more strength than intended, often either breaking it or leaving hand or fingerprints in whatever she touched. Things had had not been the same since drinking from Alexander Corvinus or after her battle with Marcus. Some of the Marcus' blood had splashed into her mouth or eyes, her face had been covered in gore after the helicopter had dismembered him. In truth Michael was quite uncomfortable with returning from death after being impaled; his body spontaneously regenerating the damage. It had not got better though, only worse since being bitten by William. He let out a long sigh, not sure if it was resignation or accepting that life was going to change _again_. Grabbing Selene's hand in a display of affection, they made their way downstairs. It was getting darker and darker, until it was pitch black, past even Selenes' vampire or hybrid senses to see. Within a second something odd happened, his sight adjusted into the ultraviolet spectrum as everything acquired a greenish tinge. Reaching the bottom of the stairs gunfire could still be heard, albeit quite distant. _Almost like the masonry is absorbing it. _They followed a corridor, as Selene seemed to regain her strength and her footing, becoming firmer. Finally able to continue on her own, Michael released her hand hoping her vision had adjusted too. The modern construction terminated at the bottom of the stairs to be replaced by very old stonework, with some odd markings on; that seemed to be a language. At least not one he could read.

Selene had noticed the odd writing too, a frown forming on her face, the sound of their footfalls echoing differently on the ancient stone to the concrete upstairs. Using her immortals senses, the whole passageway ahead seemed to 'reek' with age, it must be thousands of years old. _Who made it? _She did not know what to feel at the moment, the sheer rush of memories had been overwhelming; from someone as old as Alexander Corvinus. The Elders had been awake and slept for hundreds of years, yet Corvinus had been awake and active throughout the whole of his life. Deciding to take her mind off things, briefly studied the stonework. Michael gone through a doorway that seemed to lead further back somewhere, and slowly ran her fingers over the 'alien' letters. _Something buried, I recognise them somehow. _Watching a familiar face appear from around the corner, "This door must have led somewhere. It's a dead end back here" listening as his voice and footfalls echoed around the antechamber, only to suddenly re-appear "There's some form of keypad here with loads of symbols on".

"The same as on the wall?" was selene's reply, only to be replaced by the staccato of gunfire. Deciding to press it a few keys, and then it all stopped after pressing a few keys. _Weird_! Poking his head around the corner, Michael could see Selene crouching down, her gun automatically sweeping the stairs. He couldn't hear anything, no noises, nothing. Almost as if someone had pressed a 'mute' button. _Something is wrong_. As Michael stepped across the doorway, there was a faint shiver of wind and an electric tingle ran down his spine causing goose bumps –he appeared in the middle of a field of green grass. Looking behind there was an opening in the hill. _Had he emerged from there?_ He thought absently as the doorway vibrated and earth started to fall in the opening he had emerged from as the hill collapsed. _Shit! Where the hell was I? _After walking for ten minutes he could see humans on horseback at the top of the hill on his right and ugly non-human things with pointed ears on huge cats on the left, both sides were armed with swords. It was like watching a movie set in medieval times.

"Scout!" shouted a Legolass, aiming an arrow to kill the nearest goblin.

Within a moment dozens had come over the hill on both sides, and Michael made an instinctual choice to join the humans as both side converged in a cacophony of bodies and falling animals. Swords are drawn and blood spilled. Being in the middle, a sword narrowly missed his head. Allowing the _rage_ to take over the hybrid attacked.

Aragorn looked at the human change taking on more muscle, changing skin colour and growing fangs and talons in the process. He noticed this while parrying a goblins sword, stabbing it in the chest and looking for more opponents; you don't reach eighty plus years by being careless. _What the Mirkwood was going on_?

Back in the dark room Selene had retreated to the doorway, trying to keep her 'head down', shooting back only when necessary, trying to conserve ammunition. She did not yet know her full capabilities, having not really tested them, _too busy with the seizures_. Bullets were constantly forcing her back, and slowly retreated to the doorway. A burst from an uzi caused her to take another step back into the doorway, and feeling a faint breeze pass, ruffling her hair. This was followed by an electric tingle that made the hair on back her neck stand on end she emerged in what appeared to be a graveyard. _What the fuck?_ Behind her was a doorway to a doorway marked with the inscription 'In Loving Memory'. The old masonry behind her shook and gave way collapsing, leaving very little of the crypt but broken stones. Luckily Selene jumped to safety, landing almost twenty feet away on the top of a headstone. _What is going on?_

Selene could hear approaching voices and climbed down off the headstone, and remained hidden behind it. Two women and one man.

"What is that?"

"I don't know" responds the female in an annoyed voice.

Selene could feel the ground tremble, and then the earth shifted underfoot as two hands emerged from a grave and grabbing her ankles. She looked down in annoyance, _zombies_, as the same thing seemed to be happening from every grave. Using newly increased vampiric strength twists her legs away, easily breaking the zombies grip. _Free! _As another pair of hands reach from beneath the earth, arresting her motion causing Selene to lose her balance. Executing a rapid roll emerges unscathed, warily watching the ground for other attacks.

Two unfamiliar women turn towards the sound, pointing guns in her direction. _Another one of those days_! One of the women has a brown top on with reddish brown hair to her shoulders, holding twin pistols; the other female was wearing a blue top with short black skirt, boots and had brown hair and carried one pistol. The male had brown skin, short hair and appeared to be a member of a SWAT team wearing all the incumbent armour.

"Who are you?" Asks the female with two guns as the dead started to truly rise from their graves, body and all as far as the eye could see.

It was at this pint point the two women mobilised into action, the woman with a blue top and dark hair moved with the speed and grace of a practiced professional; the other moved with vampire speed and agility- rolling across the back of one zombie to kick two others in a spinning scissor kick; speed increasing tremendously. _Not up to my speed before I drank Corvinus's blood though_. Selene studied the scene with her preternatural senses and there was certainly something odd about her, although nothing vampiric. Something odd indeed!

Blade was really annoyed, his anger increasing with each strike. This in turn fuelled him to become stronger and faster, barely feeling the blows of the other vampires; shrugging them off with ease. He enjoyed killing _suckheads_, as none were able to match his skill or ferocity, _except Drake. _Blade stabbed another in the chest barely noticing as the vampire bursting into flame. There were just too many and he had not got anymore UV grenades, as Blade was kicked in _the ribs again and then punched in the face! More blows rained down! _A particular nasty kick knocked him backward, towards a corridor as scores of _suckheads _charged after their prey. Blade had done his 'homework' on this facility though, as some old stairs led down into a basement that went further back to what would appear to be a blank wall. According to some old archaeological papers one of the Nightstalkers had read there was a secret door at the back and if pushed hard should open into an underground chamber that lead towards the sea. While the vampires thought they had Blade penned in and that he couldn't escape-that was not the plan! He had intended to blow this facility and every vampire in it to oblivion and hopefully give the poor souls trapped a chance of release.

Eric turned and ran down the stairs as fast as dhampiric speed would take him, not pausing to look at the ancient text written on the wall. Before his foes could catch up, and almost absentmindedly Eric noticed the ozone smell. But he did not dally and finally reaching the exit point, passing through the doorway went around a corner, never paying any attention to a small raised dais upon which a keypad rested. Blade pushed at the wall with all his strength- nothing! Footsteps were nearing the room and Blade threw a normal fragmentation grenade to buy some time, relishing the screams as it exploded,

some stonework giving way. Concentrating all his anger and rage, pushed with everything he had; yet still the masonry stubbornly removed to budge. Eric was beginning to doubt the plans.

"Hey Blade, you didn't think that wall would move did you? We had your Nightstalker contact fake the article. We do control the media you know" gloated the vampire. This was followed by multiple bouts of laughter. _Damn the fucking suckhead parasites! _Blade pushed the wall once more, and hit it repeatedly with his fists, lashing out a few kicks. _The wall was solid_. Cursing all the Nightstalkers for incompetent fops, vowed never to trust one again, except Abigail and Hannibal King - hoping it would ease his anger; which it didn't. Turing around anxiously, Blade's hand brushed a raised dais, and it was then he noticed the keypad.

_What is this? _It was about two feet high and made of the same stone, with strange symbols on. The language was unknown and hoped it was a combination to open the wall. It was either that, surrender, or throw the charges and kill everything including himself. Pushing a few buttons on the keypad, nothing seemed to happen. He primed the charges and threw them around the corner. _Fuck it! _

"Come out Blade or we're…" and all of a sudden the sentence stopped as he pushed a fourth button. Looking around the corner the ceiling was collapsing, rubble and stonework fell in, but what puzzled him was the lack of sound. Hoping his hearing would return later, walked towards his end. A part of Blade's dhampir nature, unknown even to him, sensed that something was not right. Stepping through the doorway to a chill breeze that brushed his cheek, an electric tingle went down his back.

Emerging through a grandiose archway fifteen feet high, and easily twice as wide, it was made of what seemed to be some kind of white marble with more strange writing on it. _That was not the doorway I came through!_ In front of him were a dozen creatures about human size, each had quite slight builds with green skin and pointy ears.

"Look manflesh"

"Let's eat him, the master will not mind". They reminded him of toad out of _wind in willows_, one his childhood favourites, scheming and without morals. Blade heard all this as another half a dozen creatures with grey skin approached, but much they much larger; each with a white hand prints on their face. All wore medieval armour _what the fuck _Blade thought and pointed his gun in their direction and pulled the trigger. No bullets discharged from his gun, in fact nothing happened!

"Man flesh is back on the menu boys!" cried one of the monsters with a white handprint on his face and they charged Eric.

Blade ducked a sword cut aimed for his head, hitting the creature in the head, only to lie still on the ground many feet away. Another attacked, followed by another and another. With a rather clumsy sword strike Blade avoided by kicking it's knee out, leaving it to screech in agony of the floor and jumping straight over the head of one, kicking it in the face as he went while simultaneously drawing a sword from his back. His sword was modelled off a katana and a medieval broadsword; taking the weighting and cutting edge from the orientals and the double edged from it's European counterparts. One of the bulky assailants was about to utter something before his strike clove him in two. Blade landed executing a sweep, decapitating it on the way down. _Fury!_ Swept over him. More sword strikes which Blade blocked, killing enemy after enemy. _Who were they? Animals!_

Blade surveyed the room, the floor resembled marble and was now slick with black blood and the smell of corpses voiding at death. _It stank!_ _Not like killing vampires _which just turn into ash. There were a few bookshelves, but not in any language recognisable, there was quite a dearth of furniture. Making his way towards the huge oaken door, he peered out. It led to a winding staircase wide enough for three people, up or down. _Where am I?_ Eric decided that going upstairs would be best, dhampir hearing detected hundreds of enemy down there. _Overlook the problem and then find a solution_. Running up the stairs, almost a blur, he found room after room. All seemed empty, devoid of anything useful. On the _fifth, or was it sixth floor?_ Eric could hear voices, very faint. This was the highest floor, maybe there is another passageway or staircase going to the roof. Slowly he made his way to the room, where voices came from.

"But Helm's Deep cannot be breached"

"Unless the wall is broken" a deep base voice replied, resonating through the whole room, including Blade's bones. Drawing a pistol made his way into the room.

Blade's movements were un-observed as both individuals currently had their backs to him, gun constantly pointing in their direction. One was tall, human, in a white robe with white hair; the other had dark hair with dark robes. While the latters' hair was unkempt, the others was immaculate and fell in long straight lengths midway down his back.

"It would seem we have a visitor Grima Wormtongue"

"Where?" said the dark haired figure turning abruptly, "I see master"

"Leave us now!" the white haired one instructed. Blade could feel something preternatural in the others direction, almost like a compulsion, a directive to command. _Not a vampire_.

"No I am not vampire. Eric isn't it?"

"Just who the fuck are you?"

"I have many names" the white one replied, using both hands to lean on a black wrought iron staff containing a gem near the top. He took one off, pointing in Blade's direction, "That weapon will not work here", white beard billowing in the breeze. "You may call me Saruman. Shall I call you Blade?"

"Call me what you want. What the hell happened? I walked through a doorway and arrived under that archway"

"Aaah, I understand, you used the travel of the ancients. Even I have never managed to successfully activate such a device"

"Lucky me" remarked Blade sardonically. He saw movement at the top of the stairs, _those creatures were back_ and pulled the trigger. _Nothing happened, again!_

The creatures advanced, slowly and cautiously this time. Blade again drew his sword and attacked, anger rising again like an angry cobra eager for the kill.

"Good! Use your anger" stated Saruman as Blade swung in arc decapitating his first enemy. Several charged at once, and Blade evaded & counter attacked in one smooth motion. Within a few moments the conflict had ended.

Saruman watched Blade move with a speed that was not human, but something else. Never before had he watched someone with more anger than him. Perhaps, if he could be persuaded to get the ring, _power would be his. Damn Sauron!_ Perhaps even leave this _godforsaken rock of a world_. If he even stepped foot out of the tower _prison_ Sauron would know, another must be sent, _Blade!_ Must turn him to the cause and Saruman admired the ease with which Blade had killed his Uru-kai, wasn't even sweating or breathing hard. _What manner of being was he_?

"So much for the help!" Blade countered aggressively, noticing as Saruman moved towards him almost a blur. Ducking, he drove forward hoping to get inside the arc of power and kill his adversary.

"You have hate, and anger. Yet very few use them in abundance like you", as Saruman mentally summoned more Uru-kai.

There was almost the feel, or what seemed to be an electric charge emanating from Saruman, like Dracula. The formers movements became swifter, and finally Blade could almost feel his cells generate a counter charge of their own, increasing to match. _More footfalls on the stairs_, almost twelve more _things-Uru-kai _came charging up and into the room. Disengaging from Saruman turned towards the new enemy.

As Blade was about to press an advantage, Saruman extended his hand, palm open sending out a telekinetic pulse, throwing Blade towards the door.

As though pushed by an unseen hand, mere feet away from the unknown enemy fought for his life, once again.

"Let us see how good you really are. Kill your enemies" came the deep base tone of Saruman, reverberating through the whole building, even distracting his enemy.

Saruman watched as Blade easily overpowered and killed the Uru-kai. They were nothing, a necessary death and could make more anyway. Seeing Eric finally slay the last remaining creature, his anger had evolved into a fury almost akin to a volcanic eruption.

"Good, remarked Saruman; you will do as I ask"

"Why the fuck should I"

"I want you to kill these creatures and take a ring of power from them" said Saruman extending the dark magics of compulsion, causing Blade's senses to dull, causing his vision to swim and slowly become a dark tunnel; not unlike blinkers on a horse..

_I will do no such thing! Fuck you! _ Thought Blade, but what came from his lips was very different

"I will obey you master".

"Good, open your mind to me and I will send you the images of the ones I want".

Grima Wormtongue felt the summons and came into the room again, "Master" he announced.

"Feed Blade, indulge your thirst", watching as Eric leapt with unnatural speed, teeth elongating and finally sinking into the neck of Grima Wormtongues', slowly draining him of blood.

Grima barely managed a gurgle as Blade took every last scrap of blood. _A necessary loss_ Saruman thought.


End file.
